eVGA e-GeForce2 MX-400 Graphics card
Written: Nov 30 '02 (Updated Dec 01 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Easy installation and amazing video
Cons: none
The Bottom Line: Great graphics card for anyone looking to upgrade their older card to be able to play graphic intensive games.
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| opinionated3's Full Review: eVGA e-GeForce2 MX-400, (64 MB) AGP Video Card |
When I was selecting new components to put into my wife's new computer I was searching for a graphics card that would allow us to play some of our new games. We don't play any of the First Person Shooter games, but we do play graphic intensive simulation games. I was looking to replace an old 8MB AGP graphics card that was not capable of handling the resources needed for the games we wanted to play.
I was talking with a salesperson with one of the suppliers our company uses for computer components about graphic cards and she recommended a really good card for me. The eVGA e-GeForce2 MX-400 Graphics card - NVidia GeForce2 MX Chipset - 64MB VRAM - AGP 4x is what she recommended.
Before I bought the card I did a little research and I was satisfied that this was the card I wanted. I was told by some of the guys I work with who are hard core gamers that this is a bottom of the line graphics card. Since I wasn't looking for a top dollar graphic card only one that had enough memory and a decent onboard graphics processor that would play the games that my wife and family like to play.
When I was looking for a graphics card I was told that Nvidia GeForce graphics processors were the hottest on the market. I decided on the eVGA eGeForce2 MX-400 because it was priced exactly where I was looking to spend on a good graphics card. Since the new motherboard I selected came with the onboard AGP slot I was looking for a graphics card that would fit in the AGP slot. This card fit the bill perfect, it fit in the AGP slot like a glove and it was very easy to install. When I upgraded to Windows XP with this new PC I was worried about compatibility with the card and XP. The CD contains the drivers for Win 98, 98, Me, NT 4.0, 2000 and XP. After putting all the components together and turning the computer on the BIOS found the card and I loaded the drivers and everything was running smooth.
The Card
When I purchased this card back in January it was actually the middle of the GeForce2 line of cards. Like I said I was interested in an affordable card that would allow me to play my games and not be a drain on system resources. This is accomplished by having enough onboard memory that doesn't require using any of the computers main memory to process graphics. eVGA loaded this card with 64 MB of RAM (random access memory) and a great graphics processor.
To handle the chores of graphics processing eVGA chose the Nvidia Geforce2 MX-400 graphic processor. This is a 256bit 200 MHz processor chip with a built-in 350 MHz RAMDAC. Coupled with the 64 MB of onboard Ram this card is capable of some pretty impressive graphics. It has a full line of 2D and 3D capabilities that makes this a nice middle of the road graphics adapter. It supports Direct Draw, Direct Video, Direct 3D, ActiveX and full OpenGL ICD.
The resolution settings that this card can handle is pretty amazing also, from 640 x 480 - 2048 x 1536. We keep ours set at 800 x 600 and it runs great.
One of the extra features of this card is that you can connect it to the back of your TV and use it to increase the size of your display. Using the S-Video and RCA jacks on the outside of the card you can connect it to your TV as long as your TV is equipped with the S-Video jack. It comes with it's own 3 ft S-video cable to attach to your TV.
With all my concerns about heat build up inside the case of my wife's computer, I didn't have to worry about how I was going to keep this potent graphics processor cool. Just like your main processor needs to be kept cool or it will burn it up, this graphic processor needs to be kept cool. The manufacturer placed an aluminum heat sink directly on top of the processor chip to help dissipate the heat.
How well did it work?
When we finally got the computer all set up it was time to test out the games that were giving my wife's old computer fits. We loaded the Sims by EA Games ® and started playing. On the old system with a 8 MB graphics card and 128MB of system memory the images were choppy and slow. Now with the new graphics adapter and 512MB of system memory the video on the screen in nothing short of amazing. We also have been using another simulation game called SimCity 3000 unlimited by Maxis ®, this is another very graphic intensive game and it has run so smooth on this new card. Since we don't play the First Person Shooter games I can't say how well it would play those games, but based on what I have seen from mine I don't see why it wouldn't.
Pros
1) 256bit / 200MHz graphics processor w/ heat sink
2) 64MB onboard memory
3) S-Video and RCA jack for TV out (with cable included)
4) Easy Installation
Cons
-none-
The bottom line is, if you are looking for a low price graphics card that is capable of handling memory intensive video games check out this card. I don't think you will be disappointed.
For more information on this card and where you can purchase one checkout their web site at www.eVGA.com
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 89.00
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